Landing the premier event required a concerted effort from Saints, local and state officials. But few people worked as hard at it as team owner Tom Benson. Together with co-owner and executive vice president Rita Benson LeBlanc, Mr. Benson waged a permanent campaign to lobby fellow NFL team owners.

"This is my hometown," said Mr. Benson, who clearly wanted a post-Katrina Super Bowl in his legacy. "New Orleans is back, and today is proof."

The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation put together an impressive bid, and local officials and civic leaders vowed to make the event a success. Saints fans showed their passion for the game and their commitment to their team -- a vital ingredient in any successful Super Bowl bid.

It may all have been for naught without Gov. Bobby Jindal and his team nailing a long-term agreement with Mr. Benson to keep the Saints here until at least 2025 and invest $85 million in improvements to the Superdome.

The deal, which is working its way through the Legislature, means Super Bowl XLVII will be played in an expanded Dome with 70,000 seats, extra suites, new amenities and a new sports district outside.

With the French Quarter just a few blocks away, a Super Bowl in New Orleans takes place in the ultimate entertainment district. It's no wonder then that former NFL Executive Director Don Weiss, who for years oversaw the game's planning, famously called New Orleans "the best place in the world to play a Super Bowl."